One Year Bible, Sunday, February 20th

Click Here to Listen to the Readings

Leviticus 9:7-10:20

1. Moses was commanded to finish the offerings, first for himself and then for the people. And as we have said every time it says, "just as the Lord commanded". Moses obeyed the Lord, and Aaron obeyed all the Lord commanded Moses to do for the people. Key to all of this was their obedience to the Lord. When they were finished Moses went out to bless the people. Then Moses and Aaron went back into the tabernacle. When they came out it says this,

"Then Moses and Aaron went into the Tabernacle, and when they came back out, they blessed the people again, and the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole community. 24 Fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When the people saw this, they shouted with joy and fell face down on the ground." 9:23-24

God's presence through Moses and Aaron brought the community great joy and also radical worship, as they fell to the ground. This is a true definition of worship before the Lord, and although it happens different today, the results should be the same. 

2. Up to this point everything had gone according to plan supremely because Aaron and the priests had done everything the Lord commanded to the exact detail. But today we see a different kind of story, and it is a sad one. Aaron's sons disobeyed God's command by burning unauthorized fire in the incense burner. The judgment was immediate and final as the Lord struck both of them dead. Aaron remained silent. 

This seems like a pretty harsh story. And it is, but it teaches us how powerful God's holiness is and how seriously he took sin. We don't know Nadab and Abihu's motive for disobeying the Lord but it obviously showed something in their character. Stories like this are hard to reconcile with a loving and merciful God, but they serve as reminders for us of God's holiness and not to take his commandments lightly. 

3. At end of the reading Aaron did not eat the sin offering, which displeased Moses. Here is a good explanation of what happened.

Aaron did not eat of the sin offering because he mourned the loss of his sons. Though Aaron was not allowed to do any of the other signs of mourning, it was appropriate that he fast on the day of his sons’ death – and so he did, and Moses was satisfied with this explanation (he was content). Guzik

Mark 4:26

1  Jesus continued teaching them using parables  He again used the metaphor of a seed to show how the kingdom grows  The first parable shows how day and night the seed grows without the farmer knowing it. Kingdom grows at the Father’s pace in both parables. Though we plant he makes it grow. 

2. Jesus power in the kingdom also is exerted over nature as he calms the storms. 

3. Finally, Jesus exorcises a demon possessed man.  This demon is called legion because he has a host of demons connected to him. He even asks Jesus to cast him into a herd of swine, which Jesus grants  

As you can see the power and authority of the kingdom coming through Jesus is wide ranging.

Psalms

Proverbs 10:6-7









Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Acts 22 - Paul Sees the Light

Image
6  “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.   7  I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me,  ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’  8  “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.  “  ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth,  whom you are persecuting,’  he replied.   9  My companions saw the light,  but they did not understand the voice  of him who was speaking to me.  10  “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked. “  ‘Get up,’  the Lord said,  ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do. This is the famous story of the apostle Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus.  Paul was going there to persecute Jewish Christians and throw them into prison and he meets Jesus is a spectacular way.  Not only is he blinded by a briliant light, but he hears the Lord's voice audibly.  And the Lord asks him, "Lord, Lord why are you persecuting me!"  Paul thought he was serving the Lord, but he was persecuting him b
Read more

2 Timothy 4 - Fight the Good Fight! Finish the Race!

Click Here to Read or Listen to 2 Timothy 4 4 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. Paul gives a closing charge to Timothy. First of all, he is to preach the word. God's Word speaks to all situations and seasons. The Word of God will sometimes correct us. Our lives can get of out alignment with God's will as outlined in
Read more

Hebrews 6 - Have You Graduated From Elementary School of Faith Yet?

Click Here to Read or Listen to Hebrews 6 6 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so. The author once again picks up with the theme of moving on to Christian maturity.  He teaches them to move on from the "elementary" teachings about Christ. What does he mean by that?  He gives clues by citing repentance, faith, cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, and teaching on the judgment and resurrection from the dead. We might call these the basics of the Christian faith. If you read through the Apostle's Creed, which our church confesses in our 8am service, it contains many of these core doctrines.  Click here to see the Apostle's Creed Written Around “When we consider the
Read more